


The One Where Abed Spins Off

by Raj_Sound



Series: Post-Graduate Relationship Studies [2]
Category: Community (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Established Relationship, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-17
Updated: 2021-02-17
Packaged: 2021-03-13 01:34:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,180
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29518833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raj_Sound/pseuds/Raj_Sound
Summary: It occurs to Abed that he forgot to break up with Rachel. He also forgot to tell her he was moving to L.A. Troy was supposed to come to L.A. with him, but he went sailing around the world with Pierce instead. There was a lot going on at the time.He should probably text her. Or call her. Annie would say this conversation requires a phone call and she’s usually right about this sort of thing.
Relationships: Annie Edison/Jeff Winger, Troy Barnes & Abed Nadir
Series: Post-Graduate Relationship Studies [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2068842
Comments: 6
Kudos: 24





	The One Where Abed Spins Off

L.A. is everything Abed imagined it would be and more. It’s busy, colorful, eclectic, and loud. Very loud. Noise-cancelling headphones help, as they did when Troy would snore, or when Annie would invite Jeff over for a late night tryst, or when Britta tried putting her cats on a vegan diet.

He misses Troy, Annie, and Britta. He doesn’t miss Britta’s cats. He misses Jeff, Shirley, and even Pierce too, but he misses Troy most of all. He tries not to think about it too much. 

It’s odd that he doesn’t miss Rachel as much as he misses his friends. He likes Rachel. He enjoyed spending time with her, but he doesn’t feel the same dull ache in his chest when he thinks of her that he gets when he thinks of his friends. Especially Troy.

It occurs to Abed that he forgot to break up with Rachel. He also forgot to tell her he was moving to L.A. Troy was supposed to come to L.A. with him, but he went sailing around the world with Pierce instead. There was a lot going on at the time.

He should probably text her. Or call her. Annie would say this conversation requires a phone call and she’s usually right about this sort of thing.

He calls Annie first.

“Hi Annie,” Abed says. He’s finally broken the habit of starting phone calls at the important part. People find it off-putting

“Hi Abed. How’s L.A.?” Annie asks cheerfully.

“I may have made a mistake.” Abed only has so much patience for small talk.

“Did you forget to pack something? If you ask Jeff, I’m sure he’ll mail it to you,” Annie offers. “Better yet, tell me what you need, and I’ll ask him to send it. He can never say no to me.” That’s true. Whenever Abed needs Jeff to do something, he simply asks Annie to ask Jeff on his behalf. It’s more reliable than asking himself.

Unfortunately, he suspects he won’t be able to outsource a breakup. “I forgot to break up with Rachel,” he says.

Annie waits a few seconds to respond. “You…forgot?” she asks. 

“It was an oversight,” Abed explains. “There was a lot going on. We were all spinning off. It was an emotional time.”

“You  _ forgot _ to break up with your  _ girlfriend?”  _ She put extra emphasis on ‘forgot’ and ‘girlfriend.’ She’s using her incredulous voice too, which is a bad sign.

“Technically I didn’t forget,” Abed explains. “I just didn’t get around to it before I left. I sent her a text from the airport that said, ‘We’ll always have Greendale,’ but she keeps texting and calling me. I think she may have missed the reference. I haven’t responded back yet.”

Annie takes longer than normal to reply.

“Abed, you’ve been in L.A. for three days.”

“Correct.”

“So, you’ve been  _ ghosting _ her for three days?!”

“Yes?” he guesses. He assumes this is a bad thing.

“Abed, how would it make you feel if someone you cared about ghosted you?” Annie asks.

Abed knows this exercise. This is what Britta calls empathy. He tries to imagine what it would be like if the situation were reversed and Rachel left town unexpectedly and failed to respond to phone calls and text messages without explanation for three days. He decides it would bother him a little, but mostly out of concern for her safety. But then he imagines what it would be like if Troy did that to him instead, which causes him to let out a high-pitched whine dangerously close to a range only dogs can hear. 

Annie sighs and waits for him to run out of air.

“Abed, I know you didn’t mean to hurt her, but you did hurt her,” Annie says. “You understand that, right?” She’s using the sweetly condescending voice he imagines she will use on her children one day. She used it frequently back when they lived together. Like during the Buttered Noodle incident of 2011, or the time Troy thought the apartment was haunted, or the time Britta tried putting her cats on a vegan diet.

“Yes,” Abed replies. “I understand.”

“You need to make it right.”

“I will.” He doesn’t know how to make it right. “How do I do that?”

“Well, ideally you would have had this conversation with her in person, but since that’s not really an option now, you need to call her immediately,” Annie insists.

“What do I say?”

“Just be honest with her. Be kind, but be honest.”

“I can do that,” Abed says with a confident nod. “Thanks Annie.”

“You’re welcome Abed.”

* * *

Abed takes a minute to prepare himself.  _ Be kind, but be honest. _ He can do this.

Rachel picks up after the fourth ring. Normally she picks up on the second ring, which could mean that she deliberated before answering the phone, or that she didn’t have her phone on her when he called, or something else, but he should probably focus on what she’s saying instead of speculating.

“Hello Abed. I wasn’t expecting to hear from you,” she says. She doesn’t sound angry, but people often hide their emotions. Jeff used to do that a lot.

“I deserve that. I considered telling you I lost my phone, or that I spent three days wandering through a tunnel, or that I was kidnapped and buried in a coffin in the Iraqi desert, but I decided lying to you would be adding insult to injury,” Abed explains. “The truth is I didn’t know what to say to you. I still don’t.”

“I take it you’re breaking up with me?” Rachel asks. She sounds...sad? Disappointed? Relieved? It’s hard to tell. Abed’s better at reading faces than he was back in Season One, but he can’t see her face over the phone.

“Yes. I’m sorry, but yes.”

“I suspected as much.” Ah.  _ Resigned. _ “I missed the ‘We’ll always have Greendale’ reference at first,” Rachel explains. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen Casablanca.”

“It’s a classic, but I didn’t set it up very well,” Abed admits. “I’m sorry I hurt you. I didn’t mean to.”

“I know. It’s okay. Honestly, I don’t think I can handle long-distance,” Rachel says. “If I had known you were moving to L.A., I would’ve broken up with you first.”

“That’s fair,” Abed agrees. Long-distance is hard. Jeff and Annie are making it work, but not every couple is endgame material. Most aren’t. But it doesn’t mean they can’t be friends. Troy and Britta are still friends. “Can we be friends?”

“I’m going to need some time Abed,” Rachel says.

“I understand.” He doesn’t quite understand, but he knows that’s what he’s supposed to say.

“But when I’m ready, I’ll call you.”

“Can you text me instead?” Abed asks. “Phone calls are excruciating.”

Rachel laughs. “Deal.”

“Cool. Cool, cool, cool.”

“Here’s looking at you kid,” Rachel says, which seems like a good note to end on. Personally, Abed would’ve gone with  _ I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship, _ but that works too.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks again to Team Discord and to Amrywiol for beta reading!


End file.
